After commissioning on
August 16, 1942, USS Alabama's (BB-60) first mission
was to
provide convoy escort with the British Fleet in the
North Atlantic.

In August of 1943
USS Alabama returned to Norfolk for
overhaul, and then proceeded to the Pacific Theater.
In the Pacific, USS Alabama served in many roles.
She sailed with the carriers as an anti-aircraft
escort, shooting down 22 kamikaze attackers. Her
16-inch guns provided shore bombardment in places
such as the Marshall Islands, Saipan, and the
Japanese homeland.

When the war ended,
USS Alabama is a part of the occupation force in Japan.

On January 9, 1947 USS Alabama was decommissioned and placed
in reserve at Bremerton, Washington.

In 1962 Alabama was
struck from the Naval Vessel Register. The State of
Alabama raised the funds necessary to bring her to
Mobile in September of 1964. She was opened to the
public on January 9, 1965.

USS Alabama has
also played a part in a feature film. The film
"Under Siege", was set aboard USS Missouri. Though
underway shots were of Missouri, all interior
sequences were filmed aboard Alabama.

Like all of our warship
models, this USS ALABAMA battleship model
has the following qualities:

-
Plank-on-frame,
hollow
hull construction (very important), weighing
less than 15 lbs (A solid hull of this model
would weigh over 40 lbs, requiring 2 people to
handle and a fortified table to accommodate.)

- Hollow superstructure comprised of many individual
thin pieces of wood glued together, not few blocks stacking on top one
another.